West Brethren Church
West, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Czech immigrants began settling in this area of McLennan County about 1875. Early families included those of Josef Masek and John Foit. They attended St. Peter's Evangelical Church, founded and attended by German settlers, until the Rev. Henry Juren began conducting services in the Czech Moravian Brethren tradition. At his first service in 1888, the Rev. Mr. Juren baptized infant H. E. Beseda, who later became a minister himself. The Rev. Adolph Chlumsky formally organized the West Brethren Church in June 1892. He traveled from his farm in Brenham by railroad about six times a year to conduct services. A choir was active from the congregation's early days, as were the youth of the church. The Krestanske Sestry (Christian Sisters) was organized in 1893 with 26 members. In 1894, church trustees bought three acres east of town and built a church for one thousand dollars and donated labor. The building was dedicated in 1896. There were about fifty communicants by the turn of the 20th century. Among them were families named Adam, Barton, Beseda, Foit, Hegar, Janek, Kudelka and Svacek. The Mutual Aid Society of the Brethren Church organized in 1905. Mrs. Anna Urbanovsky donated a tract of land for a cemetery in 1908. The church building was severely damaged in a 1919 windstorm. It was replaced in 1920 and served until July 1956, when it was replaced by a modern brick facility with a sanctuary seating 220, a large fellowship hall and ten classrooms. A part of the community for more than a century, West Brethren Church continues to offer a variety of worship and educational programs. (2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Czech immigrants settling this corner of McLennan County in the 1870s at first worshiped with German neighbors at St. Peter's Evangelical Church until the Rev. Henry Juren began preaching in the Czech Moravian Brethren tradition, and the Rev. Adolph Chlumsky formally organized the West Brethren Church in 1892. He rode the railroad from Brenham to lead services, while a choir, youth groups, and the Christian Sisters society knit the congregation together. New buildings in 1896, 1920, and 1956 carried the church past its centennial.
Why it matters
The church is a living record of Czech Moravian immigration and the ethnic congregations that took root across central Texas.
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Related people
- · Henry Juren
- · Adolph Chlumsky
- · H. E. Beseda
Themes & tags
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